Yellow by Megan Jacobson

If fourteen-year-old Kirra is having a mid-life crisis now, then it doesn’t bode well for her life expectancy. Her so-called friends bully her, whatever semblance of a mother she had has been drowned at the bottom of a gin bottle ever since her dad left them for another woman, and now a teenage ghost is speaking to her through a broken phone booth. Kirra and the ghost make a pact. She’ll prove who murdered him almost twenty years ago if he does three things for her. He makes her popular, he gets her parents back together, and he doesn’t haunt her. Things aren’t so simple however, and Kirra realises that people can be haunted in more ways than one.

The Screaming Staircase – Jonathan Stroud

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts.

Jonathan Stroud’s website

The Screaming Staircase book trailer

Jonathan Stroud answers fan questions

Razorhurst – Justine Larbalestier

The setting: Razorhurst, 1932. The fragile peace between two competing mob bosses—Gloriana Nelson and Mr Davidson—is crumbling. Loyalties are shifting. Betrayals threaten. Kelpie knows the dangers of the Sydney streets. Ghosts have kept her alive, steering her to food and safety, but they are also her torment. Dymphna is Gloriana Nelson’s ‘best girl’, experienced in surviving the criminal world, but she doesn’t know what this day has in store for her. When Dymphna meets Kelpie over the corpse of Jimmy Palmer, Dymphna’s latest boyfriend, she pronounces herself Kelpie’s new protector. But Dymphna’s life is in danger too, and she needs an ally. And while Jimmy’s ghost wants to help, the dead cannot protect the living.

Justine Larbalestier’s website.

Crow Country – Kate Constable

Sadie isn’t thrilled when her mother drags her from the city to live in the country town of Boort. But soon she starts making connections—with the country, with the past, with two boys, Lachie and Walter, and, most surprisingly, with the ever-present crows.

When Sadie is tumbled back in time to view a terrible crime, she is pulled into a strange mystery. Can Sadie, Walter, and Lachie figure out a way to right old wrongs, or will they be condemned to repeat them?

Log in and borrow the eBook here!

Kate Constable’s blog.

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) – Maggie Stiefvater

(From Goodreads)

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them–until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn’t believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Maggie Stievfater’s website, blog, and flickr.

Fan-made Tumblr, Pinterest board and blog.

Maggie Stiefvater’s trailer for The Raven Boys:

 

Afterworlds – Scott Westerfeld

(From Goodreads)

Darcy Patel has put college and everything else on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. Arriving in New York with no apartment or friends she wonders whether she’s made the right decision until she falls in with a crowd of other seasoned and fledgling writers who take her under their wings…

Told in alternating chapters is Darcy’s novel, a suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the ‘Afterworld’ to survive a terrorist attack. But the Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead and as Lizzie drifts between our world and that of the Afterworld, she discovers that many unsolved – and terrifying – stories need to be reconciled. And when a new threat resurfaces, Lizzie learns her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she loves and cares about most.

Afterworlds trailer:

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown – Holly Black

(From Goodreads)

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave. One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

Holly Black’s website.

Holly Black’s Tumblr.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown trailer:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) – Michelle Hodkin

(From Goodreads)

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

After Mara survives the traumatizing accident at the old asylum, it makes sense that she has issues. She lost her best friend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s sister, and as if that weren’t enough to cope with, her family moves to a new state in order to give her a fresh start. But that fresh start is quickly filled with hallucinations—or are they premonitions?—and then corpses, and the boundary between reality and nightmare is wavering. At school, there’s Noah, a devastatingly handsome charmer who seems determined to help Mara piece together what’s real, what’s imagined—and what’s very, very dangerous.

The Mara Dyer website

Michelle Hodkin’s website

The Unbecoming Pinterest page

The Unbecoming playlist

 

Book trailer:

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) – Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted house she used to call home.

Yet she spares Cas’s life.

Kendare Blake’s blog

Watch the book trailer

Dark Angels – Katherine Langrish

When Wolf runs away from the monastery where he grew up, he finds himself lost on Devil’s Edge – a hill riddled with old mine shafts, said to be infested with ghosts, boggarts, elves, and perhaps even the Devil himself. Wolf meets a local knight out hunting, who offers him work and shelter in his castle – a place inhabited by a host of unexpected characters – a hearth hob, a ghostly white lady and a mysterious wandering juggler. Together Wolf and Nest, the knight’s daughter, become embroiled in a mystery which leads Wolf into the very darkest depths of Devil’s Edge…

Goodreads

Bloodlines (Bloodlines #1) – Richelle Mead

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets – and human lives. When Jill Dragomir – the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir – is in mortal danger the Moroi must send her into hiding. Sydney is called upon to act as Jill’s guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty – a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning… A spin-off from the Vampire Academy series this is the beginning of another very popular series.

Refracted light reviews

Watch the book trailer

Warm Bodies – Isaac Marion

In a ruined city, in a dreary world, ‘R’ meets Julie – a girl who attracts him immediately and who is everything he is not. However, ‘R’ and Julie’s burgeoning relationship could change the very nature of the world in which they live. For a start, she isn’t a zombie and he is… ‘R’, though, is different to his fellow zombies: he thinks, speaks and dreams in a way they do not. His link to Julie is forged when he eats the brains of a teenage boy in love with her and their romance begins. Surprisingly philosophical and sweet, this zombie story still has all the gory elements you might expect, with the main character inspiring rave reviews from many readers.

Foil the plot

Shadows (The Rephaim #1) – P. Weston

Gritty and fast-paced, this Australian novel is packed full of action, with angels, demons and a protagonist with questions about her past. Gaby Winters is still recovering from the tragic accident a year earlier which killed her twin brother. Her dreams are littered with fights with demons, who look just like the new guy in town: Rafa. He claims to have been best friends with her brother, but Gaby has never met him. A fast-paced romance, this novel has proved very popular with fans of the paranormal genre.

Goodreads

Unearthly (Unearthly #1) – C. Hand

Clara is part-angel and whilst there are definite benefits to this – in terms of both her physical and mental capabilities – there’s a down side too. Visions plague her: and lead her into a world of decisions and dangers. She knows that she must have a purpose here on Earth, but it is not easy to work out what that purpose is. Especially when she is distracted by the seemingly-perfect guy, Christian, who has come into her life and the less-than-perfect but definitely attractive Tucker – about whom there is nothing angelic!

Anatea’s Bookshelf

The Paladin Prophecy (The Paladin Prophecy #1) – M. Frost

Keeping a low profile is a way of life for Will; his parents have always been insistent that he doesn’t give away his special skills and talents. But, inevitably – one day – he slips up, and accidentally achieves top scores on a nationwide test. Suddenly an exclusive prep school is offering him a full scholarship and he is being chased by mysterious men in black sedans. Will doesn’t know who to trust or what to do, so he goes to the school and discovers that he is not the only one with such unusual talents. Will’s parents also disappear and he realises that there are dark secrets surrounding some of the nastier students in the school, with links back to Medieval demonology. Suddenly Will has to draw on his physical and mental prowess in a way he never imagined. Fast paced and exciting, the plotline of this novel will have you hooked!

Goodreads

Switched (Trylle Trilogy, #1) – Amanda Hocking

Wendy Everly has not had an easy start to life. Her mother thinks she is a monster and tried to kill her when she was only six years old. Now, seventeen, Wendy is finding out things about herself that she never suspected. Much of that is due to the mysterious Finn Holmes, from whom she discovers the truth about herself when he tells her that she is a changeling. Moreover, he wants to take her home to a world she can’t even imagine…

Whilst criticised for a lack of originality in its plot, Switched has been a hugely popular addition to the modern gothic genre.

Ink on paper

Beautiful Creatures – Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

It’s impossible to hide a secret forever – as Lena Duchannes finds out when she moves to a new town. Even though she’s trying to hide the curse that has haunted her family forever and also the power she holds, Lena is still unlike anyone else in the Southern town of Gaitlin where she now lives. Ethan Wate also finds life in Gaitlin tough; he can’t wait to escape until he meets the beautiful stranger he’d been dreaming about. Whilst it is overly melodramatic in parts, the characters and setting mean that this is another hugely popular paranormal romance for teens.

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) – Julia Kagawa

A mixture of faery lore, magic, adventure and romance, this first novel in ‘The Iron Fey’ series follows what happens when Meghan Chase discovers her four-year-old brother is a changeling on her sixteenth birthday. But this is only the first in a series of revelations! Her best friend, Robbie, turns out to actually be Shakespeare’s mischevious Puck (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and he is her guardian as they travel into the faery world to save her young brother. Meghan also turns out to be the daughter of powerful King Oberon and is thus a princess in the Unseelie Court. However, Meghan and Puck underestimate the magical powers they will be faced with in their action-packed quest – powers that could destroy the entire magical world.

Gripped into books!

Taken away – Celine Kiernan

Suffering the loss of their home in a fire Patrick and Dom’s family retreat to the house where they spend their summer holidays. It is here that Dom is possessed by the goblin-boy. In a desperate race against time Patrick must fight to save his twin from ‘the grey’ before he is lost to his family forever. In so doing he must unravel more than one story from the past. This is a chilling ghost story about a haunting, grief and loss.

The Amulet of Samarkand – J. Stroud

Witty and irreverent, this is the first in a new series about a young boy Nathaniel who is sold by his parents at the age of five to be an apprentice in the magical profession. The years pass well enough but everything changes when he is humiliated and betrayed just before his eleventh birthday. Out to get revenge, Nathaniel summons a powerful demon – Bartimaeus – and they set out to steal the amulet of Samarkand, without realising how dangerous and deadly this will be.

Department 19 – Will Hill

Father dead, mother missing and rescued by Frankenstein, Jamie’s life will never be the same again. Taken to Department 19 – a secret government agency – he discovers that he must try to rescue his mother from a terrifying vampire. Peopled with classic characters from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this is an action-packed and often gory novel which is filled with suspense to grip your attention until the end.

Dark Faerie Tales

The Saga of Larten Crepsley – Darren Shan

If you loved Cirque du Freak, then you will love reading the backstory of master vampire Larten Crepsley! As an impoverished youngster he is sent to work in a factory where life is impossibly hard. When his brother is killed as an example by the abusive foreman, he enacts his revenge and ends up having to flee. Taking shelter in a crypt, he meets a vampire and thus his road to the later series is cemented. Fast paced and action packed, this is a must read for fans of the series.

QBD

White cat – Holly Black

Seventeen-year-old Cassel seems to be the only untalented one in his family of curse workers – he has, however, perfected the art of the con, which he relies on to convince his classmates that he is normal. But a strange white cat keeps appearing in his dreams and making Cassel think about his friend Lila, who he killed years ago. When he sleepwalks onto the roof of his school, he is suspended and ends up back in his family home – where the same white cat which had been in his dreams appears. What is the connection? And can Cassel out-con the conmen?

It’s a book thing

A ghost in my suitcase – Gabrielle Wang

Lost and insecure, Celeste goes on a sad mission to China: taking her mother’s ashes home. Staying with her grandmother, PorPor, she comes to learn much about her Chinese heritage and to feel loved again. However, she also learns about an unexpected family tradition: ghost hunting. Does she have the strength and courage to help her grandmother against their nemesis? A fast paced adventure which is easy to read.

Penguin Books

Silvermay – James Moloney

Sixteen-year-old Silvermay Hawker is the fierce and stubborn protagonist of this grand and magical adventure. Strangely drawn to the mysterious and goodlooking newcomer to her village, Tamlyn, who seems devoted to another – Nerigold and her son Lucien – Silvermay soon discovers that they are on the run from the evil and devious Coyle Strongbow who seems to want the child for some nefarious purpose. Caught up in the danger, she also discovers the horrific truth about Tamlyn.

Goodreads

Wolf Blood – N. M. Browne

It’s first-century Britain and the Roman legions are advancing. Trista is a British warrior girl who has been held captive by a rival tribe and manages to escape; unluckily, she runs into two Roman foot-soldiers and has to pretend to be a beggar so they do not kill her. Using her skills as a seer, she discovers that Morcant – the half-British Roman warrior – is more than he initially appears. Unlikely friends, they escape together and Morcant comes to quickly learn that he is in fact a shapeshifter: a werewolf.

Goodreads

Children of the lamp – P.B. Kerr

Giving a whole new meaning to wisdom teeth, Kerr develops a fantastical and original premise for an adventure in this novel. Siblings, John and Phillipa, suddenly acquire magical powers – inherited from their mother – when their wisdom teeth start to come through. They share a dream which tells them to go from New York to London, but before they know it they are in Cairo having the adventure of their lives – with ghosts and the pharoah Akenhaten himself! The first in a series, this well -researched novel is likely to be very popular with younger readers.

Antiqbook

Mercy – Rebecca Lim

Mercy is an angel who has been exiled from Heaven and is doomed to return repeatedly to Earth – never knowing whose life and body she will share when she returns. This time, Mercy has woken on a bus bound for the ironically named ‘Paradise’; a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business … except Mercy’s. In this, the first book of a new paranormal series, a whole host of other angels are out to punish Mercy – the problem is, it’s for a crime she doesn’t remember committing.

Harper Collins

Blood Ninja – Nick Lake

Taro has been raised to believe he is a simple fisherman’s son. However, this action packed story opens with Taro – who wants to be a samurai – seeing ninjas attack his home and murder his father. Saved by a good ninja, Shusaku, he and his best friend Haro find themselves on an unexpected adventure. The underlying premise of the story is that ninjas are actually vampires and that is what Taro becomes. Set in 16th century Japan, this is an unexpected blend of fantasy and historical fiction – which has some fairly extreme violence, but also ends with Taro learning some important lessons.

The Book Zone (for boys)

Clockwork angel – Cassandra Clare

In this, the first book of the ‘Infernal Devices’ series, sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother. However, arriving in Victorian London, she discovers the terrifying and supernatural amidst the gaslit city streets. Kidnapped and hunted, Tessa soon discovers her own rare ability: to transform into another person. Joining the Shadowhunters, who swear they will help find her brother if she uses her power to help them, Tessa faces an arcane threat which could destroy the world. Similar to her ‘Mortal Instruments’ series, Clare creates a world where romance, intrigue and danger track Tessa’s journey.

Cassandra Clare

Eighth grade bites (The chronicles of Vladimir Tod: 1) – Heather Brewer

If you thought eighth grade was tough, try it with fangs and a fear of garlic.

Junior high really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is watching him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: his mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: he’s being hunted by a vampire killer.

Visit the website

Goodreads

Strange angels – Lili St. Crow

Sixteen-year-old orphan Dru Anderson isn’t like you or I. Her mum’s long gone and her demon-hunting dad has turned into a zombie. So, for Dru, the Real World is a frightening place where she has to work out who she can trust. Surrounded by werewolves and vampires, Dru seems to be the next target of antagonist Sergej so it’s no surprise that she’s armed, dangerous and ready to kill first and ask questions later. If she can’t last until sunup, it’s game over . . .

Recommended for 16+.

The Rosie Black Chronicles

Paranormalcy – Kiersten White

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see  through paranormals’ glamours, but still – normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie’s dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realises that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the centre of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Paranormalcy #1

Goodreads

Halo – Alexandra Adornetto

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels, Ivy, Bethany and Gabriel are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness. They work hard to conceal their true identity and – most of all – their wings.

But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls for the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him?

Inside a Dog

Impossible – Nancy Werlin

A beautifully wrought modern fairy tale from master storyteller and award-winning American author Nancy Werlin.

Lucy is seventeen when she discovers that she is the latest recipient of a generations-old family curse that requires her to complete three seemingly impossible tasks or risk falling into madness and passing the curse on to the next generation. Unlike her ancestors, though, Lucy has family, friends and love. Is it enough to keep her safe?

Inside a Dog <http://www.insideadog.com.au/books/impossible>

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side – Beth Fantaskey

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica’s senior year plans. But then a bizarre new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu claims Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth and he’s her long-lost fiancé. He’s arrogant, embarrassingly overprotective, and, well, incredibly hot. Armed with a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica tries to imagine the transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal damnation. Full of plot twists and turns that will keep you guessing this fast-paced story is a light-hearted and amusing take on teen vamps in love.

For more information visit bethfantaskey.com

On the bookshelf

Five parts dead – Tim Pegler

Dan is struggling to cope after surviving a horrific car accident that killed three of his best mates, when he is dragged off on a family holiday to a remote lighthouse. Plagued by boredom and weird dreams Dan starts to explore the lighthouse and uncovers a tragic mystery. Through the pages of the lighthouse logbook, Dan and Pip begin to unravel the sad and terrible story of a girl who once lived there. In solving the mystery Dan must lay to rest the ghosts of the past and the ghosts of his present. This compelling story includes a brush with the supernatural and a touch of romance.

The Book Gryffin

Hush, Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick

Romance was not part of Nora Grey’s plan. That is, not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is attracted to Patch against her better judgment. But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. When she looks for answers, she finds the truth is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen — and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life. A gripping and intense love story about fallen angels.

Watch the trailer for Hush, Hush

Our Library lovebites teen blog

A great and terrible beauty – Libba Bray

It’s 1895 and after the death of her mother in mysterious circumstances, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle leaves India for England to go to an exclusive boarding school for young ladies. Troubled by visions it is only when Gemma discovers a diary, recounting the events leading to a tragedy at the school twenty years earlier, that the way into the realms of her visions is revealed. Thus begins a forbidden and dangerous journey for Gemma and her friends, as they discover that the supernatural delights of the realms are overshadowed by a menace they cannot control. As Gemma’s magical powers develop and her knowledge of a mystical Order grows, so does her awareness of her destiny. A combination of fantasy, light horror and historical fiction, with a dash of romance, this is the first book in a trilogy.  

Fishpond

Keeper – Mal Peet

This is the story of how a boy from a poor village on the edge of a South American rainforest grew up to become “El Gato” (The Cat), a famous goal keeper in a World Cup winning team. Of how as a young, gangly boy he got tired of sitting on the sidelines and so went off exploring in the rainforest where he came across a hidden soccer field. And of an apparition that appeared and over many months taught him to become the greatest goalkeeper ever known. Not just an enthralling soccer story, this is also a story about family, a ghost story, an environmental story and ultimately a mystery. Just who is the mysterious coach?

YALITFAN

Wake – Lisa McMann

Ever since she was eight years old Janie Hannagan has been pulled into other people’s dreams, observing not just the mundane but their recurring fears, fantasies and secrets. When she is drawn into the dreams of former bad boy and loner Cabel, Janie witnesses the nightmares that have been haunting him and for the first time becomes a participant. While trying to help Cabel, Janie must sort out what her feelings are towards him. Janie comes to understand her true power as the suspense builds in this supernatural thriller.

Real Teen Reviews

Evermore (The Immortals: 1) by Alyson Noel

“Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s entire life story by touch. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen.

He’s the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it’s as though he can see straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she’s left with more questions than answers. She has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is she’s falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.”

Alyson Noel

Playing Beattie Bow – Ruth Park

The story takes place in The Rocks area in Sydney. Abigail watches some children play the scary game of Beatie Bow and suddenly finds herself swept back into the Sydney of a hundred years ago.

Penguin

City of bones (Mortal Instruments: 1) – Cassandra Clare

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray goes to a nightclub in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with odd markings. This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons-and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It’s also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Shelfari
Vampire Book Club
Mortal Instruments website

Kissed by an angel – Elizabeth Chandler

Ivy and Tristan are meant to be together, they think their love and happiness will last forever. When a terrible car accident shatters their world, killing Tristan and injuring Ivy, she must face life alone – or so she thinks. However, Tristan is watching over her as her guardian angel – so close she can feel his touch and hear his voice. And no one needs a guardian angel more than Ivy, because someone is trying to kill her. But if Tristan saves Ivy, his mission on earth will be finished, and he’ll have to leave her behind. Will saving Ivy mean losing her forever?

Real teen reviews

The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman

When “the man Jack” uses his razor-sharp knife to murder a family, a toddler slips away to a nearby graveyard. Adopted by the ghostly inhabitants, the child, Nobody Owens (Bod), grows up learning the tricks of the dead. His beloved guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own, gets Bod what he needs from the human world. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for Bod but the greater danger lies beyond the graveyard, as the man Jack continues to hunt for him.
Recommended age: 12+

Forbidden planet

Wings – Aprilynne Pike

Moving to a new town to begin High School is the first of many changes in the life of fifteen-year-old Laurel. Laurel has always been different but when a wing like blossom blooms on her back she begins to understand why. Laurel is a faerie and her journey of self-discovery is filled with magic and intrigue, romance and danger. Laurel is torn between love for her new friend David, and love for Tamini, her faerie guardian, protecting her from encroaching dark forces.
Recommended age: 12+

Examiner

My swordhand is singing – Marcus Sedgwick

Set in the wintry forests of 17th-century Romania and drawing on the legends of Eastern Europe, this is a sinister tale of vampires and the undead. Peter and his father are woodcutters who have recently moved to the lonely village of Chust. Peter doesn’t understand why all his life they’ve moved from place to place, or why his father carries a long battered box everywhere they go, and why he is forbidden to know its mysterious contents. With the arrival of a band of gypsies Peter’s miserable life is transformed. For these travellers are Vampire Slayers who reveal that Chust is a dying community – where the dead come back to take revenge on the living. Amidst the terrifying events that follow in this gripping, gothic fantasy, the secrets of Peter’s father’s past are revealed.
Recommended age: 12+

Fantastic fiction

The Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . . Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever. 
Recommended age: 15+

The blood bank

Shelfari

Nine letters long – J. C. Burke

When Evie’s friends conduct a seance, Evie knows she’s been contacted again.  The letters on the board start spelling out one name: C-A-Z over and over. A cryptic message with nine letters leads Evie to a family where two sisters, one living, one dead, share a dark secret that must be revealed.  But is Evie strong enough to solve the mystery and reveal the truth in time to release both girls?
Recommended age: 13+

Random House